MEMBER DIARY

Words DO have meaning, so why is it that we hardly ever hear anyone talk about a “government shutdown?”

As the negotiations over the debt ceiling, taxes and spending approach a critical deadline, more and more we hear Obama and the MSM talk about the consequences of failing to reach a deal ( on their terms) We hear of “catastrophic consequences” for Americans, in the form of higher interest rates on mortgages and credit cards. The fate of the entire US, if not the global economy, hangs in the balance. We’re told that Social Security recipients may not get their checks; that military personnel won’t get paid; that the National Weather Service won’t be able to deliver forecasts.

The MSM draws comparisons more and more to the events of 1995 and 1996, when the government twice shut down, and how Clinton is generally viewed as having bested Gingrich politically. During that debate, Clinton and the Democrats continuously used the phrase “government shutdown” to threaten and browbeat the Republicans.

But as anyone who follows the current crisis knows, we almost never hear the phrase “government shutdown” from Obama , Dems, or the MSM.

So it’s reasonable to wonder why that is. Even more so, as at the same time, we are actually seeing a real, live, government shutdown in Michigan, nearing two weeks duration. You’ d think that parallels would be draw, endlessly, atempting to extrapolate the hardships visited on Michiganders to what it would mean to the rest of the nation.

Is it possible that in a mere 15 years, the majority of the public no long fears a government shutdown? That the big bogeyman is in fact a mere paper tiger? Polling tells us that by a near 4 to 1 ratio, Americans do NOT want the government to increase the debt.

The Democrats are really lacking any message on this, let alone a coherent one. Instead we’re told endlessly about corporate jets, and peas, and billionaires not paying their fair share. Obama babbles at his now dailypressers. He’s about to accomplish one miracle,to make Mark Dayton seem intelligible.

The Dems love slogans, phrases, mantras. It’s how they appeal to, rally, and hold their core constituencies. They will not give willingly give up on one that has been very successful for them in the past, unless they know that it doesn’t work anymore.

And if that’s indeed the case, then the sea-change that began in 2010 has a long way to go, all the way until 2012..